024: How the Art of Persuasion Was Forged

Wang Yu’s words immediately left the man in black speechless. What kind of oddball was this? Who on earth was asking how many ways there are to write the word “return”? Is that what I meant? I meant you’re courting death!

The man in black, unwilling to waste further words on Wang Yu, let his face darken and spoke coldly, “Worm, step aside, or die!” His murderous intent was so intense it seemed the ground would freeze beneath it.

Wang Yu remained utterly calm, his expression serene, “Who are you calling a worm?” The man in black was taken aback—could this fellow truly be an idiot? He replied reflexively, “I’m calling you a worm!” Only after saying it did he realize Wang Yu had tricked him into a verbal trap.

Furious, but shrewd enough not to act himself, the man in black ordered his subordinates to deal with Wang Yu instead.

Wang Yu saw that the man wasn’t playing by the expected rules—he wasn’t making a move, so Wuji had no chance to launch a sneak attack. Thankfully, Wang Yu always had a backup plan.

As a master of arguments, he was prepared for opponents to dodge and refuse to play by his rules. In such moments, it was time for personal insults—to provoke the enemy into rash action.

So Wang Yu shouted, “Hold on!” The man in black had no interest in Wang Yu’s nonsense; he’d realized that the youth before him was either a lunatic or a cunning fool, and talking was a waste of time.

Seeing his words ignored, Wang Yu thought, "This won’t do." He unleashed the full power of his verbal artillery.

What is verbal artillery? First, it’s fast; second, it’s devastating. Speed alone is mere verbal gunfire. True verbal artillery strikes directly at the enemy’s vital points with every sentence.

Wang Yu fired off his words in rapid succession: “You filthy sewer rat, unfit to show your face, born with a tragic countenance that stuns the world—Ugly Wu would bow before you, and even Zhong Kui would turn away in shame. It’s one thing to look like a rat, but your cowardice matches it—you fear ambush, so you send your underlings to test the waters, sacrificing them while you hide behind them. As a leader, you send your men to their deaths—a disgrace to heaven and earth, and to your parents. If I were you, I’d throw myself into the river to wash away my sins, never daring to stand here and threaten others. Your shamelessness is heavier than Mount Tai, longer than the great river—truly worthy of awe.”

He finished with a bow, as if genuinely admiring the man in black.

Wang Yu’s barrage was delivered at lightning speed, yet every word was crisply enunciated, so all present heard him clearly. After all, what self-respecting master of argument would lack such basic skill? To train his ability to speak swiftly and accurately, Wang Yu had recited tongue twisters until he wore down three stones. Why three stones, you ask? To strengthen his tongue, he practiced with a stone in his mouth. After grinding three stones to dust, Wang Yu became invincible—the rocket launcher of debate.

The crowd was left utterly dumbfounded. Debate culture was common in this world, but usually it was conducted with reason and discourse, never in relentless, machine-gun fashion as Wang Yu did. Not even the most famous schools of debate would argue like this. Personal attacks were rare, or at least subtle—but Wang Yu hurled his insults directly, viciously, as if digging up the man’s ancestors.

More insidiously, Wang Yu sowed seeds of suspicion between the leader and his assassins. Don’t assume assassins are all fanatics—assassins and fanatics are entirely different. Assassins have their own minds, seeking profit and avoiding harm. This time, the leader had brought assassins, not fanatics, for there were other tasks to be done. Fanatics, brainwashed as they are, aren’t suited for complex missions.

If the leader insisted his men act, he’d have trouble controlling his team in the future. At this moment, the leader’s mind was filled with only one thought: to kill Wang Yu himself, tear his corpse to pieces, and throw it into the river for the fish.

With a furious roar, his bloodshot eyes locked on Wang Yu, and a torrent of deadly energy surged around him, coalescing into a terrifying claw that lunged at Wang Yu. If Wang Yu were struck by this claw, survival would be a miracle.

Even in his rage, the man in black remained vigilant toward the Fan Commerce Guild, never forgetting his true objective. After unleashing his attack, he immediately sought to retrieve the jade vial in his hand, wary of Zhao Luan snatching it away.

He dared not relax his guard against Zhao Luan. The reputation of the One-Blade of the Eastern Sea was legendary in Yue—stories told of him training by the shore, wielding his blade to drive back the waves, forcing the sea to retreat three thousand feet, shattering countless fish and shrimp, even carving a trench three thousand feet long into the seabed, instilling awe throughout the Eastern Sea.

Some speculated that he might be a disciple of the sage of war, Sun Wu. Sun Wu, since his retirement, had never been seen again, so the rumors remained rumors. Yet that Zhao Luan was a disciple of the military arts was indisputable. The murderous aura he unleashed when drawing his blade was impossible to fake—only a student of the military school could cultivate it.

Such an aura was born from the battlefield, fierce and violent by nature. Without the proper knowledge, attempting to harness it would lead to death by explosion.

But the leader of the assassins never anticipated that his vigilant guard against Zhao Luan played right into Wang Yu’s hands. As the deadly claw was about to strike Wang Yu, amid Fan Huansha’s worried gaze, a rainbow-colored radiance erupted from Wang Yu, forming a semicircular shield above his head.

The black claw struck the shield, rippling it like water. The leader was dumbstruck—what was this?

In the next moment, he realized things had gone awry. Wang Yu had come prepared, deliberately provoking him into attacking, aiming for the jade vial in his hand. As soon as he understood, the leader rushed to unleash his deathly aura for protection, but it was already too late. Wei Wuji, who had been waiting for this very moment, sprang into action.